- One of the great love stories of the 2010’s featuring David O. Russell’s trademark rat-a-tat dialogue, the expansive, combative dysfunctional family (part actual family part surrogate), and some of the best acting of 2012.
10 characters standing in the small living—this is certainly the auteur from The Fighter – the tone, the chaos
- If you’re an actor and David O. Russell offers you a part- whether it is the lead or a supporting part with the ninth largest speaking part- take it- there is enough here for not only the brilliant Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence (this is the best performance to date from each) but also De Niro (his best work since at least 1997’s Jackie Brown), Jacki Weaver and you can keep going down the line with the cast—one of my favorite scenes is John Ortiz with Cooper and Ortiz’s suffocating speech. Haha. Painfully funny.
- Bradley Cooper plays our central character, Pat, diagnosed bi-polar—often wearing his garbage bag and sweats. He’s abrasive, physical,— throwing the book out of the window at 4am “I will apologize on behalf of Ernest Hemingway”
- Lawrence shows up 25 minutes in—and they are absolutely perfect together—a triumph of casting, chemistry and characterization from Russell
a triumph of casting, chemistry and characterization from Russell
- Russell’s dialogue is masterful— loud and wild—Sorkin certainly doesn’t have a patented at fast-flying clever dialogue. There is shouting, the phone ringing, Led Zeppelin getting turn up on the soundtrack, the doorbell ringing, a dog barking (the Safdie brother are masters at this, years later obviously, doing it over and over again during Uncut Gems)— and then Russell throws in some splice editing of Pat’s past traumatic event
- 10 characters standing in the small living—this is certainly the auteur from The Fighter – the tone, the chaos
- A touching montage- Girl from the North Country by Dylan and Cash as they start falling in love
- A poignant emotional speech (and certainly proof he still has it) by De Niro at Cooper’s bedside at the 75-minute mark
- Highly Recommend- top 10 of the year quality film
Yep De Niro still has it.He is sensational in The Irishman.I’m sure his performance and the film will age well and get the credit it deserve.This is De Niro’s best work since The Score.I loved his interactions with Brando and Norton.But I have to agree that film work better on first viewing rather than multiple viewings.Maybe that’s why you don’t have it in the archives.Still The Score,Silver Linings and Irish man are his 3 best performances this century.Hope to see more of him in the future especially in Killers of The Flower Moon.
Am I the only one that like De Niro in Meet the Parents ? It’s iconic.
Don’t like The Score, bland.
The Score isn’t bland.Even though the opening could have been better I loved every single minute of it.Severely underrated.Like I said it works better the first time.On what world is Meet The Parents iconic?De Niro and Brando sharing the screen is truly iconic.
“I have nipples Greg, can you milk me?”
Ask non-cinephiles their favorite DeNiro film/performance and there’s a good chance they’ll answer Meet the Parents. That is a form of iconic.
Most people don’t know The Score exists. And most of the people who do, don’t care.
I’m not a guy who laughs at lame jokes like that.Ask a non cinephile who is their favourite movie character.They will say Mr.Bean.Mr.Bean is way iconic than De Niro in Meet The Parents.Ha ha someone should archive Mr.Bean films because they are iconic as well.
The Score is a worthy film and severely underrated.Roger Ebert must be nuts give The Score a 3 and half stars.Ha ha.
Really love this film – to me it is a masterpiece, but, at the same time, I do understand why you rate it HR. Out of curiosity – I know you like Bale in American Hustle – what do you make of Bradley Cooper in the same film? I, personally, think its one of Bradley Cooper’s best performances to date, among with this one, American Sniper, A Star Is Born and Place Beyond The Pines – although I feel we probably disagree on the quality of all of them, outside of American Hustle (which you rate a MP on the 2013 page).
@Jeff No. 2- yeah- I think all of performances in American Hustle are superb- Cooper included
I’m not a fan of this film. I think it is super cinematically bland and much of it is what hitchcock famously called ‘photographs of people talking’. That being said, part of what makes great romantic comedies like bringing up baby work is the chemistry between two great performers. I would not accuse bradley cooper of being a great performer on his best days. I think he lacks a certain charisma. Now Jennifer is a good performer but she annoys me in this film. I liked the husband of the wife that invited cooper to dinner. I also love the idea that two people who might seem unattractive to the outside world can find solace in each other but i think that the idea was canceled out by too many cliches. However the best part of this film was de niro. It proves he is still a great performer. I love his character who was not the best father and is neurotic himself but cares about his son and tries.
Had I known that Hitchcock quote would be abused in this manner, I never would have shared it. Silver Linings Playbook is in no way whatsoever the sort of film he was describing. In fact the ingenious fusion of visual and auditory style Russell employs to bring us into the characters’ subjectivities in Silver Linings is pretty much the exact opposite of the phenomenon Hitch was describing.
Also, I would ‘accuse Bradley Cooper of being a great performer’. And I certainly wouldn’t be alone in that.
Matt Harris. I knew about that hotchcock quote before you posted it. Also bradley cooper is not my favorite. John simon the film critic was always controversial for targeting performers looks, though they do have to do with if a performer is great. He admits that if a performer is talented enough then it won’t matter if they are unattractive. I dont think cooper rises above. And I dont hate silver linings I think that it is not a good film but does have some silver linings (pun intended) and one of them is de niro, who is proof of john simons assertion.. However i understand why other people like cooper, and he seems like a really good person but I just don’t think much of him as an artist.
Also, I’m wondering what you thought of the fighter. I hated it. In my mind it has the ugliness of a sean baker film and I think it condescends to the working class characters it supposedly embraces. Plus it was super cliche and used a lot of overused songs in uncreative ways. If rocky raging bull didn’t exist then it would work perhaps. Also I reject the idea of actors directors like him and kazan (kinetic directors are the real talents). Mark wahlberg is one of the best actors in american history so of course he is great and amy Adam’s is extremely talented, but i prefer her in the master and superman. Christian bales worst performance i think.
@m
I hesitated to even write this because I really do not want to be rude, or bullying. Suffice it to say, that I seem to have a very difficult time seeing eye to eye with you. For example, your list of most admired critics from the other day contains the two critics I consider to be the absolute most irredeemably terrible on the face of the planet, Armond White and Rex Reed. I likewise have very little time for the critic whose authority you’re fallaciously appealing to here, John Simon. What’s more, it’s not entirely clear why you’re referencing him here. Are you trying to suggest that Bradley Cooper is unattractive and not talented enough to compensate for that? If so, I disagree with the latter… and virtually the entire rest of the world disagrees with the former.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I disagree with most of what you have to say about The Fighter as well. I actually saw it with Drake in the theater ten years ago and had a grand time. It is very well shot by Hoyt van Hoytema who is one of the best up and coming cinematographers on the planet, and fused verite styles with a vibrant approach to the in-ring action. Your claim that Russell is simply an actor’s director blandly photographing performances almost couldn’t be more wrong. He is very kinetic and has a strong visual style that continues to develop in Silver Linings and American Hustle. Finally, I guess I have to take issue with your comments on acting too. Mark Wahlberg is fine, and this is one of his best performances, but in no universe is he one of the best actors in American History… I don’t think anyone has ever made that claim until you did just now. So points for originality. And quite to the contrary of what you claim, Christian Bale is phenomenal in The Fighter. It’s one of the best supporting performances of the decade. I will agree that Amy Adams is marginally better in The Master… but Superman? Seriously?
@Matt Harris. I stand by my opinions but I want to say that I’m sorry if I offended you in any way. If you and drake went to see the fighter and loved it then i dont want in any way to knock that experience. I feel someday I might like silver linings playbook. There were some genuine emotional moments and robert de niro as I said was great, but right now ill just say there was as much that I didn’t like as that I did. As for wahlberg, I think it is like what pauline kael said about who Travolta is one of the greatest because of his everyman quality we all can relate too, especially in de palmas blow out or even in something like pulp fiction or one of his music films. I feel wahlberg is like that and whether it is a more serious role or some obscure comedy I so think he has a relatable greatness to him, as he always seems to try to do write or to wear his emotions on his sleeves. Also I must admit that silver linings had a fresh look to it even if I didn’t find too much creative in the camera movement. Also I was wondering if you or anyone else on this site ever went to film school. I want to go to film school when I graduate high school for a film history course but don’t know anyone who has. Is it worth going to?
Regarding the “photographs of people talking” point, I think you have to have in mind what is director trying to do with a specific film. I remember making that case for Eric Rohmer here because for the type of film he is making, you are just not going to see cross cutting or some crazy tracking shots. It’s just impossible to fit in that aesthetic. Should he be penalized for that? He still made some great films (critically acclaimed, on TSPDT list etc..) and his style is relatively recognizable. I often like to point out Dunkirk as a contra-example because it’s just a showcase of Nolan’s skills and basically has no narrative. It still works and it’s still a great film and easily Nolan’s best in my opinion. So different approaches can work and there’s no formula or textbook to follow.
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